Familiar Trio Earns Finalist Honours
No Luka Doncic. No Jayson Tatum. There may be other candidates deserving of inclusion in the MVP race, but at the end of the day, the Michael Jordan MVP award boils down to three finalists: 2x two-time winners and one aiming to become his first team’s MVP in decades.
Nikola Jokic
There are many reasons why the Denver Nuggets finished the 2022-2023 regular season with the best record in the Western Conference (53-29). Both Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. stayed healthy and provided consistent numbers. Aaron Gordon also now looks fully comfortable in the Nuggets offense.
But in the end, Denver’s success will be largely attributed to their triple-double machine and two-time MVP, Nikola Jokic. And rightly so.
In the final edition of the MVP Race Ladder, the Joker reclaimed the top spot. He finished the regular season with averages of 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 63.2% field goal shooting in 33.7 minutes per game. While a calf injury forced Jokic to sit for five of the final regular-season games, a healthy Nikola Jokic is about as disruptive a force as there is in the modern NBA.
When he’s not scoring, Jokic commands the offense like few others can, let alone big men in the association. On the year, only Trae Young (741) had more assists that Jokic (678) as the 28 year old continues to prove he can affect the game even when his shots aren’t falling.
The Nuggets head into the 2023 playoffs with a healthy roster- a rarity for the franchise. In the 752 days since Aaron Gordon was acquired by Denver, the Nuggets have never played a playoff game where all of Jokic, Murray, MPJ, and Gordon were on the court together.
Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers finished as the league’s leading scorer (33.1 points per game) in 2022-23. He also finished with averages of 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, one steal, and 54.8% field goal shooting in 69 regular-season games.
In a timely performance down the stretch, he erupted for 52 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks against the Boston Celtics. A performance that made Philadelphia Head Coach Doc Rivers declare that the MVP race “is over”.
If there’s one argument that could hamper Embiid’s chance to become the Sixers’ first MVP winner since Allen Iverson, it’s the fact Embiid might end up as one of the few MVP winners who didn’t play at least 70 regular-season games.
However, for every detractor who attempts to paint the picture of Embiid as “oft injured”, keep in mind that he suited up for 66 games in 2022-23, which is only 3 shy of Jokic (69) and 3 more than Giannis Antetokounmpo (63). One way or another, this year’s winner will have missed time at some point during the season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Despite only suiting up for 63 games this season (the second lowest total of his career), Giannis’ numbers helped the Milwaukee Bucks win a league-leading 58 games.
In the minds of many, the argument is simple: The Greek Freak is the best player, playing for the best team in the league. No need to overcomplicate things. It also helped the Bucks’ case for another deep playoff run this year that they were able to build a strong team around their 7x NBA All-Star.
For the season, the 28-year-old Antetokounmpo averaged a career high 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, on 55.3% field goal shooting. His shooting percentage this season matched his shooting percentage during the 2019-2020 season- the year he last won the MVP award.
Although he had a strong supporting cast, Giannis was forced to carry the Bucks for certain stretches of the season, due to injuries to Khris Middleton, who only appeared in 33 games due to injury.
Regardless, Bucks fans can rightly gripe about “voter fatigue” when it comes to overlooking their homegrown superstar. Only 2 players in NBA history have averaged 30+ pts, 10+ rpg, 5+ apg, on 50%+ shooting in a season: Giannis, and Wilt Chamberlain. Only one of those players has done it on 55%+ shooting. Giannis.
While other players might be rewarded for such a stat, voters have almost come to expect it out of the Bucks all-world forward. A fact that can sometimes be held against him, when it comes time to cast ballots.
A Tight Finish
As mentioned many times over in the media, this season’s MVP race is the tightest we’ve seen in recent memory. That’s why all eyes will be on the panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, who will submit their votes soon.
The players have done their part. Now the ball is in the hands of the panel.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.